EDITORIAL: No harm in foster care summit

A National Public Radio series on Native American foster care in
South Dakota has prompted the Interior Department’s Office of
Indian Affairs to request a summit between federal, state and
tribal officials.

The NPR series alleged that the state has violated the federal
Indian Child Welfare Act by removing too many Native American
children from their homes and placing them with non-Native
families. According to the NPR report, 90 percent of Native
American children that are removed from their homes each year in
South Dakota are sent to foster care in non-Native homes or group
homes. Federal law requires that Native children be placed with
relatives or with Native American foster families, except in
unusual circumstances.

South Dakota officials have called the NPR series inaccurate,
unfair and biased.

Kim Malsam-Rysdon, secretary of the state Department of Social
Services, said the state has nothing to hide and welcomed the
chance to explain its Native American foster care program.

“We are very confident that South Dakota is in compliance with
federal law in this area, and we really do welcome the opportunity
for the federal government and others to understand just how that
federal law is being implemented in our state,” Malsam-Rysdon
said.

NPR also claimed Gov. Dennis Daugaard had a conflict of interest
because of his work as lieutenant governor for Children’s Home
Society of South Dakota, which has received millions of dollars
from the state for housing Native American children.

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The governor’s office has disputed NPR’s reporting, pointing out
that the Children’s Home Society had contracts with the state long
before Daugaard became the organization’s chief operating officer
in 2002.

Native American foster care is a sensitive issue, and a summit
among federal, state and tribal officials should give South Dakota
the chance to present the facts surrounding its foster care program
and clarify its compliance with the federal Indian Child Welfare
Act.

The summit can’t hurt, and it might lead to improvements in the
state’s foster care program that will better serve Native American
children and their families.

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